Sunday Matinee by Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance

1:15 p.m. Chocolate: Pathway to the Gods
2008, ArcheoProductions, Inc.
Producers/Directors: Meredith L. Dreiss and Grant Mitchell.
Co-Producer: Sharon Edgar Greenhill
This revealing documentary explores the 3,500-year history of this divine substance through ritual and obsession. From Mayan kings who were buried with, to urban professionals who bathe in it, the film begins in ancient Mesoamerica and journeys throughout time to Europe's finest chocolate houses where chocolate is still revered as one of mankind's highest expressions of decadence and sensuality.
You can find a DVD copy of the film in Meredith L. Dreiss' and Sharon Edgar Greenhill's book with the same title later published by University of Arizona Press in 2011. It contains over 120 color images of archeological and architectural treasures from ancient Mesoamerican that reinforce the sacred realm of chocolate. Available through Amazon or University of Arizona Press.

What better way to spend a cold Sunday afternoon than a free day at the movies?

Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance has lined up three exceptional films. Come at 1 p.m. to chat and get your popcorn. Then settle in for an afternoon of documentaries you won't see at the theater.

2:35 p.m. Nemo, 1934
2013, by Corey Robinson
Producer/Director: Corey Robinson
In the depths of the Great Depression, 16-year-old Everett Ruess set off from his suburban Los Angeles home with the desert southwest in his sights. Descending into the maze of canyons and mesas he made watercolor paintings and block prints that have endured to this day. His mysterious disappearance in 1934 sparked a fierce search for his whereabouts. With no immediate success his family published his writings and continued to search for their missing son. Dive into the red rock wilderness that inspired and consumed the young artist.
Interested people may download their own copy through Vimeo.

3:35 p.m. Death of Place
2012, by Cloudy Ridge Productions
Producer/Director: Larry Ruiz
The documentary Death of Place defines the importance of landscape and archaeological preservation and outlines in detail the steps necessary to protect our cultural assets to help prevent a 'death of place'. Interviews with numerous experts will be interspersed with footage of ancient art, architecture, and artifacts. Archaeologists, native historians and educators, rock art experts, and renowned authors are participating in this film. Each interviewee has an intimate relationship with this land and this ancient culture as well as their unique opinion on how to best preserve and protect this vital piece of cultural history. Winston Hurst and Jonathan Till are two of the foremost ancient Pueblo archaeologists in the world. Joe Pachak's knowledge of ancestral Puebloan rock art is highly respected in the regional archaeological field. Award winning author Craig Childs has written over a dozen books as well as many published stories and countless newspaper and magazine articles on the subjects of preservation and conservation. Clyde Benally is a popular Navajo historian and Patricia Sandoval is a well-known and highly accredited Laguna Pueblo educator. Take a soul-stirring look at how sacred places in the Four Corners area of southwestern US are in danger and must be preserved. The film shows precisely how close we are to losing this precious part of our ancient history by documenting perspectives on how 'Place' should be respected and protected for what it is: a living home to the American Indian ancestors.